Tag: prayer

Principles-4-Progress 1 of 3

Prayer: Pouring Out Your Heart

I Samuel 1:9-18 New Living Translation… Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”

12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”

15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord.16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.

Introduction: The objective of this sermonic trilogy is to plant seeds of healthy spiritual rhythms that create a rich and fulfilling relationship with God.

This series is called Principles-4-Progress because progress in God requires principles that please God.

Sometimes prayer is silence because the pain is too deep for vocabulary.

Transition: It is possible to be in sacred space and still carry secret sorrow.

Exposition: Hannah’s prayer is composed of at least a trichotomy of progressive principles: pain, plea, and peace.

  1. Hannah prays from the posture of pain.
  2. Hannah’s plea is honest and specific. 
  3. Hannah finds peace after prayer.

Conclusion/Challenge: Whatever your heaviest weight is, bring it to God for the next five days. Because when pain becomes prayer, and prayer becomes surrender, and surrender becomes peace, you will discover that God has been working things out for you the whole time!

Just Like Jesus 3 of 4

Objective: To transform our lives and relationships, by living into what it means to be Christlike.

Hearing God

James 1:22-24 NLT… But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

Introduction: As we celebrate the birth of the church, we must consider if God can trust us to carry out God’s kingdom building mission.

Transition: The tension of the text, is found in a person’s disregard of the details they learn from the mirror.

Exposition: Hearing God is a discipline…
-Devote and defend time. Reference Psalm 88:13, Psalm 141:2, Psalm 55:17 -Dig into the scriptures. Reference Psalm 1:2 -Determine to be receptive. Reference Acts 17:11

Conclusion/Overwhelming Observations:
-Not sound but substance (listen)
-Discernment is necessary (to God’s word)
-Input makes you responsible for output (do what it says)

Prayer – 2 of 6 Spiritual Disciplines

Prayer – Spiritual Disciplines 2 of 6

Matthew 6:9-13 NLT… Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Introduction: Prayer is the most underutilized tool in the Christian’s toolbox.

God is the only constant in our relationships, and we present the variables of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual distance.

Transition: Our relationship with God suffers when we fail to make prayer a priority.

Exposition: Prayer must be central to the life of a Christian.

–Divine Centrality (verses 9-10) your name, your Kingdom, your will
REFERENCE Matthew 16:42 My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.

–Communal Petitions (verses 11-13) Give us, forgive us, rescue us
REFERENCE James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Challenge: Secure a prayer partner, and pray with and for each other at least twice this week. Do so audibly, and pray unselfishly based on conversation with your prayer partner.

Devotional song of the week: Sweet Hour of Prayer Meditation (Rev. James Cleveland)